Remind me, what’s a Velar again?

Range Rover family can be traced back to a made-up car company called Velar. By David Linklater.

Range Rover’s latest SUV carries a rather unusual name: Velar. But it’s a very important name. In fact, when you really get down to it, ‘‘Velar’’ is Range Rover.

When Rover Company (as it was called back then) was developing the first-generation Range Rover in the late-1960s, it was a completely new type of vehicle intended to introduce a completely new brand.

As the research and development programme, led by the now-legendary Charles Spencer King, hit public roads in 1967, it was crucial for the true identity of the new model to remain a secret. So all real-world Range Rover prototype vehicles were badged Velar.

Why Velar? Two reasons: one romantic, the other practical. Velar is derived from the Italian velare, meaning to veil. Very appropriate.

But you can also spell ’’Velar’’ solely from the individual letters in ‘‘Land Rover’’, which must have been handy when there were much more important things to do on the project than create convincing-looking badges for a pretend car-brand.

So 47 years of Range Rover history can be traced back to the Velar name, although the model has changed a lot since its official launch in 1970.

Roger Crathorne (affectionately known as Mr Land Rover around the company) spent 50 years at the company and was part of the original development team.

‘‘At the time I began my career in 1967 as a technical assistant on the Velar Team, the intention was never to build a luxury vehicle,’’ says Crathorne.

‘‘Over the 50 years since, the Range Rover has come a long way. We wanted to develop a more comfortable on-road Land Rover that would combine the comfort of the Rover with the Land Rover 4x4 capability to support a growing leisure market.’’

Milestone moments for Range Rover

1966: Work began on the first Range Rover prototype, known as the ‘‘100-inch station wagon’’. Later: ‘‘Velar’’.

1970: Original two-door Range Rover goes on sale.

1974: Range Rover completes west to east Sahara desert expedition: 12,000km in 100 days.

1977: Modified Range Rover wins the 4x4 class in the LondonSydney Marathon: at 30,000km, the longest ever speed-based car rally.

1979: Specially modified Range Rover wins the first Paris-Dakar rally (again in 1981).

1981: First production four-door Range Rover appears, along with the first factory produced limitededition model: the ’’In Vogue’’. 1982: Automatic transmission becomes available.

1983: Five-speed manual gearbox is introduced.

1985: Diesel-powered Range Rover ‘‘Bullet’’ breaks 27 speed records, including a diesel record for averaging more than 160kmh (100mph) for 24 hours.

1987: Range Rover launched in North America. 1989: First 4x4 to be fitted with anti-lock brakes.

1990: Limited Edition CSK – named after founder Charles Spencer King – launched as a sportier Range Rover.

1992: Range Rover Classic is the world’s first 4x4 to be fitted with traction control.

1992: Long-wheelbase LSE launched.

1992: Automatic electronic air